The Who: Sensation: The Story of Tommy$19.98 (Blu-ray), Eagle Rock Entertainment

Who guitarist Pete Townshend is a genius who channeled his tortured childhood into a fabulous rock opera.

Those are the findings of "Sensation: The Story of Tommy," a glowing — albeit, enlightening — documentary about the making of the Who's 1969 double-album "Tommy," which relates the tale of a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" with "crazy flipper fingers" who becomes a "pinball wizard."

Townshend and Who singer Roger Daltrey sit for fresh interviews, while Who drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle (who died in 1978 and 2002 respectively) are represented in archival footage. The legendarily irascible Townshend is funny and forthcoming; well, he is a guy who loves to talk about himself.

We learn that prior to writing "Tommy," Townshend gave a lengthy interview about it to Rolling Stone, which RS published virtually unexpurgated. In the doc, the guitarist and his interviewer, Jann Wenner, agree that Townshend was largely talking off the top of his head, which helped solidify many of his ideas.

Wenner wasn't the only journalist to influence "Tommy." To appease critic Nik Cohn, for whom Townshend played early "Tommy" recordings, Townshend refashioned Tommy as a pinball superstar. Cohn gave "Tommy" a five-star review.

Townshend enlisted Entwistle to write two of the rock opera's darker songs, "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About," which deal with torture and molestation.

The documentary touches on Townshend's troubled boyhood, during which the guitarist believes he was molested. (Townshend's 2003 arrest for accessing a child-pornography site is not mentioned; Townshend was cleared of charges later that year.)

"Sensation" borrows a trick from the Oscar-winning documentary "20 Feet From Stardom," in which singer Merry Clayton listens to her solo on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" isolated from the other tracks. Daltrey is shown listening to his "See Me, Feel Me" solo without musical accompaniment. The singer looks a bit forlorn. It's a touching moment.

But when Daltrey sings the praises of Ken Russell's 1975 film version of "Tommy" — which is a cringe-worthy disaster — it makes you question the veracity of everything he's said in the doc.

Extras include a black-and-white German TV special in which the Who lip-synchs "Tommy" amid state-of-the-art graphic effects — for 1969, that is — and Townshend gives an interview presented with German subtitles.